(Sound films released theatrically since 1927;
Released for television in the early 1950s;
Syndicated, 1958 - 1960;
Syndicated, 1995)
[Before Walt Disney drew Mickey Mouse using circles for ears
since it would be easier to draw him from all angles, another
abstract character made of geometric shapes was designed
and animated -- "Felix The Cat" has had a very long history
indeed -- almost since the beginning of animated motion
pictures. You might say that this cat has used up quite
a few (but not all) of his "nine lives" over the past more than
nine decades...and his origin is surprisingly controversial,
even now...The catty little tale is as follows:
Young Australian cartoonist Pat Sullivan wasn't able to
establish a career as a cartoonist in Sydney. So he first
travelled to London in 1909, where he fared no better.
Then he arrived in the United States in 1914, and survived
doing a series of odd jobs.
Luckily at that time silent film producers were eager to have
a complete program, and needed cartoon shorts between the
longer live-action stories for variety and amusement of their
audiences. By 1915 Sullivan set up a fledgling film animation
studio in New York City. He hired a 24-year old named Otto
Messmer among his first employees.
The Sullivan Studio created a cartoon character called
"Thomas Kat", seen in a cartoon short subject called "The
Tail of Thomas Kat" which Sullivan filed with the U.S. Copyright
office on March 3, 1917, claiming himself as the author.
As ClassicThemes contributor Gerald Carr of Australia says
about this half-reeler, "The program showed the removable
tail and the sight gags as the black cat did his amazing
tricks..."
Two years later in 1919, Sullivan's studio was contracted by
Paramount Pictures (perhaps on the basis of the "Thomas Kat"
short) to create a silent film cartoon series called for
Paramount called "Feline Follies."
Cartoons were (and are) labor-intensive efforts so, there
may be many people who bring it too life -- including an
animation director and even a producer, just as with a
live-action film.
Otto Messmer was given directing duties for "Feline Follies."
And the star cat character that was to evolve into the famous
"Felix The Cat" was named Felix (for "felicity" -- for
luck) by Paramount Pictures producer John King.
A 1991 book "Felix: The Twisted Tale of The World's Most
Famous Cat", author John Casemaker contended that the final
familiar version of Felix was actually a design of director
Otto Messmer, not his boss Pat Sullivan -- whom he said took
credit for "Felix" for many years. This claim was first made
by Messmer in 1967 -- 34 years after Sullivan's death and
long after anyone else who might have first-hand knowledge
of events had passed away.
However Messmer's claim that he created the cat is one
that makes Australians furious. And because of the earlier
"Thomas Kat" film in the U.S. Copyright Office filed under
Sullivan's name, it may be a claim that is hard to prove.
Besides, even if Messmer did work on "Thomas Kat" which is
likely, perhaps he did so on a "work for hire" basis.
Of course, diehards on Messmer's side of the debate have
pointed out that the first instance of the cat -- "Thomas Kat"
wasn't the same cat that "Felix" ended up being through the
contributions made over time by Messmer and others at Paramount.
Another point in favor of Sullivan: Felix was licensed to
King Features Syndicate as a newspaper cartoon drawn under
Sullivan's name -- known as "Pat Sullivan's Felix The Cat".
At any rate -- at this period in history all that can be
said for sure is that both Sullivan and Messmer worked on
cat character cartoons together, and Felix continued to
have "nine lives" throughout animation history...
And the catty debate rages on....Meeeoww...
Quite a few "Felix" cartoons were produced during the early
decades for use in theatres. Felix was also considered lucky
by the 1922 New York Yankees who adopted him as their mascot.
In 1923 a popular song called "Felix Kept On Walking" was
written with music by Hubert W. David and lyric by Ed E.
Bryant and was a novelty in both England and America; (but
there is no indication it was used on television or in
sound films later.)
When sound came to the movies in 1927, Pat Sullivan thought
sound was "a fad." But the character was not to be left in
the silent era. Lucky Lindbergh kept a Felix doll in his
airplane as he crossed the Atlantic in his 1927 solo flight.
So eventually sound versions of Felix were produced and
released by Paramount, scored by James C. ("Jimmy") Bradford.
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, another tune was
associated with "Felix" theatrical cartoons -- an English
traditional tune that somehow got associated with the
character called "The Grand Old Duke of York" known in the
U. S. as "A-Hunting We Will Go".
During the early 1930s, when RCA Victor began experimenting
with early efforts to create television, and they used a
toy version of Felix rotating on a turntable as a test
subject (the toy wouldn't melt in front of the hot lights
like actors.) But interest in creating new Felix cartoons waned
during the 1940s and 1950s when other cartoon characters were
being created.
During the early days of TV, the early series of Paramount
"Felix" cartoons created in the 1920s were sometimes seen
on various local cartoon shows in packages re-released at
periodic intervals.
But it wasn't until the late 1950s when the character was
revived by Joe Oriolo for a new series of color cartoons
created by Famous Studios productions. Veteran cartoon
composer Winston Sharples was commisioned to produce a
THEME song for this series which became well known as
"Felix, The Wonderful Cat". For two years, new Felix
cartoons were made (from 1958 - 1960.) And these were the
ones most people saw on television over the next 35 years.
Fast forward to 1995, when Joe Oriolo's son, Don Oriolo,
decided to re-invent the character yet again, for a
surrealistic cable TV series. Perhaps taking a cue from
the title of the 1991 book which told the twisted evolution
of the character, he called his series "The Twisted
Adventures of Felix The Cat"; two seasons of episodes
were produced...]
[above is title as listed in the ASCAP database;
title on sheet music "Felix! Felix! Felix, The Cat!";
Paul Whiteman recorded this, although it is not clear
when or if it was used with the cartoon series in sound films]
Composers: Alfred Bryan (ASCAP),
Max Kortlander (ASCAP) and
Pete Wendling (ASCAP)
1978 Publishers: [Carl] Fisher Music Corp. (ASCAP) and
Sam Fox Music Pub. Co. (ASCAP)
2001 Publishers: Sony Tunes, Inc. (ASCAP)
c/o Sony/ATV Tunes, LLC
of New York, NY; and
WB Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
c/o Warner-Chappell Music, Inc.
of Los Angeles, CA
Composition Date: 1928
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recordings:
Composer: James C. ("Jimmy") Bradford (ASCAP)
1978 Publisher: [not listed in the 1978 Index of
performed compositions]
2001 Publisher: Cypher Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
a div. of Ivan Mogull Music Corporation
c/o EMI Music Publishing, Inc.
of New York, NY
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recordings:
[this tune was known in the U.S. as the nursery rhyme
"A-Hunting We Will Go"]
Composers: *Traditional* [English tune], and
adaptation by Clive Richardson (British PRS/ASCAP/BMI)
1978 Publishers: Keith Prowse & Co., Ltd. (PRS) and
Sam Fox Music Pub. Co. (ASCAP)
2001 Publisher: WB Music Corp. (ASCAP)
c/o Warner-Chappell Music, Inc.
of Los Angeles, CA
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recordings:
[although Charles Randolph Grean was a TV composer, whose
best-kown theme was the gothic Soap Opera "Dark Shadows", the
exact nature of how this was used is unknown at this time...
since it was written four years before the revival for TV
produced by Joe Oriolo]
Composers: Cy Coben (ASCAP) and
Charles Randolph Grean (ASCAP)
1978 Publishers: [listed in the 1978 ASCAP Index of
Performed Compositions]
2001 Publishers: Alley Music Corp. (BMI)
c/o Carlin America, Inc.
of New York, NY; and
Trio Music Co., Inc. (BMI)
c/o Leiber & Stoller
of Los Angeles, CA
Copyright Date: Feb. 11, 1954; Eu 347 394.
Renewal Date: May 3, 1982; RE-127-906.
Recordings:
[ASCAP title variations...
aka: "Felix, The Wonderful Cat (Main & End Title)";
aka: "Felix, The Cat (Theme)"]
Composer: Winston Sharples (ASCAP)
[professional name of Winston Singleton Sharples, Sr.]
1978 Publisher: Famous Music Corporation (ASCAP)
2001 Publisher: Famous Music Corporation (ASCAP)
of Los Angeles, CA
Copyright Date: Oct. 22, 1958; Eu 547 134.
Renewal Date: Jan. 2, 1986; RE-276-631.
Recordings:
[BMI title variations...
aka: "Felix End Credits"]
Composer: Nathan Tsung Hsien Wang (BMI)
2001 Publisher: F R I Music (BMI)
c/o Zomba Songs, Inc.
of New York, NY
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recordings: